Necropolitan
by King Cheetah
Summary: During the worst blizzard in the history of Hillwood, Helga races to save a suicidal Arnold. Rated T for naughty hijinx, smoochery and Phoebe buck nekkid. I live for reviews.
1. Chapter One

Necropolitan by King Cheetah

These characters are from the sweat-beetled brow of Craig Bartlett... lucky stiff.  
Rated PG-13 cause I felt like it, and some characters might end up nude later. We'll see...  
Enjoy.

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As Helga Pataki frantically plowed through the knee deep snow, she began to understand the meaning of the phrase 'bitter cold'. This weather did indeed have an emotional edge to it; bitter, hateful, resentful of all living warmth and determined to right that wrong. Her breathing was labored and painful, each breath like inhaling sand, but she had to continued. Almost there, she could just make out the snow frosted shape of the boarding house, no longer a hostel but still Arnold's home. The power was out on several city blocks, this one amongst them, and the half darkness adds to her feelings of dread.

She'd returned from living with her grandmother feeling a renewed energy and was ready to get her life going again. Miriam was the picture of health, exactly as Helga had expected, as the running of the beeper business was her passion and the greatest love in her life. Pataki Wireless Telecom was THE premiere consumer electronics retail business in Hillwood, and Helga quietly mused that it's success was the most fitting tribute to the memory of Big Bob. While her mother had reverted to her maiden name, Pataki was the only name she thought fitting of that business, and as far as she was concerned, it would always wear it proudly.

Reaching the stoop of the boarding house, Helga searched for any sign of life with. The snow had piled chest deep against the door and had obviously iced shut. No light shown through any of the windows. Not helping the situation was the eerie dead silence that comes with steady snowfall, giving the entire area a ghastly dead pallor. She glanced at her watch as she whipped out her cell phone; 8:21 PM, not too late to expect that he'd awake.

"Hello, Phoebe?" she wheezed.

"Helga? Are you all right? You sound..."

"I'm outside the boarding house. I need you to call Arnold and see if he's in here. I can't see any signs of life... um, I mean, I can't see any lights inside."

"But Helga, you know he said..." said Phoebe in a panic.

"I know, I know. I'll take the heat for this if he's mad, but I'm still worried. I just want you to give him a call. Tell him you just wanted to see how he's doing. The power seems to be out on this block, so you sorta have an excuse. Just say you were calling to check on him or to see if he needed anything, or something like that. Please Phebes..." Helga's voice was heavy with concern.

Sighing, Phoebe said, "Okay Helga... I'll call you right back.

Helga's time away had been what she had needed. Her mother's relatives were a stark contrast to her own home life, as she was awash in love and encouragement. Awkward at first, she gradually accepted and thrived from the attention and grew into a proud, confident young lady, in school and her very busy social life. Editor of the school paper two years running, vice president of the yearbook committee, she moved easily in the upper realms of her peers. While not a social animal, she was gregarious and enjoyed the attentions of a string of potential suitors, whom she encouraged, but only to a point. Some things in her life refused to change and her feelings for Arnold being chief among them.

As she edged her way to the side alley of the boarding house, her phone chirped joyously.

"Helga, he's not answering. I tried both numbers, and his cell twice. Do you think he's all right?"

"I'm trying not to think about that. Okay, I'm going in..." she said looking up to the fire escape ladder.

"HELGA, NO! Arnold asked you not to..."

"Call me back in a few minutes. Thanks Phebes." and she put the phone away and leapt to grab to first wrung of the fire escape ladder.

At her father's funeral on that humid July morning, Arnold was the very model of compassion. Almost in a daze, she was having trouble reconciling her feelings. Her relationship with Big Bob had always been dicey (to put it mildly), but he was still her father and all she could remember were the good times. All too intimate with parental loss, Arnold spent days at her side, consoling her and doing what he could to keep her spirits high. While she still couldn't bring herself to confess her true feelings for him, the ice had been broken and a deep, caring friendship had been formed. It was decided that it would be better for Helga if she were to live with Miriam's larger extended family for a time, as Hillwood would be no place to get over her loss. Numbed by her father's memory, she quietly agreed, and both Arnold and Phoebe swore to keep in touch. To her eternal joy, they were both as good as their word.

The arduous climb up the icy fire escape was every bit as unpleasant as she had imagined it would be. A constant struggle for balance and progress, she was almost to the point of exhaustion as she reached the top railing. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to warm her pain wracked lungs by breathing through her fists. No time for this, she thought. Peering through the side window of Arnold's room, she fought for clear line of sight through the frosty gloom. She couldn't be sure if Arnold was in there, but hoped for the best. Struggling up the last lengths of the ladder she tottered unsteadily across the roof towards the skylight. In times past she'd stalked this very route to steal a glimpse of him, or on occasion invade the sanctity of his room to protect her own secrets. Looking over the snow covered roof, she finally found the pane that opened into his room.

Their letters were a lifeline, a connection to all the things in her past worth holding onto, and they became her most cherished possessions. Between Arnold and Phoebe, she never lost a moment of the life she might have lived in Hillwood, as they regaled her with tales of her former classmate's doings. Kept up to date on events, it was like living two lives at once, a heady vice and her only real addiction... other than Arnold. Through his letters she saw peeks and hints of his feelings, tantalizing, flirtatious, ribald and cunning, his words would often give subtle promises of what that 'other life' may truly have held. Phoebe likewise told tales of the romantic intrigues of her prodigal pals, while perhaps ever so slightly embellished, served to informed as well as entertain.

Shaking off the last bits of snow onto the carpet, Helga peered around into the inky gloom of Arnold's darkened room. It looked... dead. Not merely empty, but lifeless; a space not having had known the warmth of occupancy in days. Gray and ghastly, it was almost a mockery of the bright space that she'd so often associated with Arnold in memories most cherished. All of his house plants were beyond dead, and a thin patina of dust coated most of the surfaces of the furniture. Giving her eyes a moment more to adjust to the dim light, she tried to quiet her own breathing to hear any movement around her. Worst of all, the room seemed to be only ever so slightly warmer than the air outside... not a good sign when seeking the living.

Her life revitalized, she made the decision to return to Hillwood after graduation, and possibly follow her mother into the family business. She'd never relinquished her dreams of a writing career, but having corresponded with several published authors, they all gave the same advise; write part time until you get established. Don't try to make a living at it right off the bat. And so, taking their words to heart, she wrote constantly, and studied each editor's critique with care. By the time she returned to her childhood stomping grounds, she had an agent and was just beginning to enjoy the first baby steps as a published writer. A few short stories for minor periodicals, and essay or two, and her crowning achievement (so far), a wry history of Wheezin' Ed for FORTEAN TIMES. The last had set a new direction for her as she found that she REALLY enjoyed writing about odd esoteric cultural road marks, and had begun to compile a small notebook of intriguing urban legends around Hillwood to document.

Moving slowly across the room, she took note of the fact that there was very little evidence of any activity in this room for quite a while. The hideaway sofa was down, the stereo front open as if begging for the treat of a CD as reward for good behavior and the potato powered alarm clock had sprouted tendrils which desperately searched around it's base for earth. As she neared the door, her phone chrilled for attention.

"Hello?" she whispered, and thought it better to switch the ringer to the vibrating function.

"Helga? It's Phoebe. I...I managed to get ahold of Arnold..." said the meek voice of Phoebe, almost apologetically.

After a short pause Helga said, "And? Is he all right?"

"He's in there, and he's seemed to be okay... but, um..."

"Jeez Phebes, spit it out. Is he all right or not?"

"He just sounds very depressed. I really am beginning to worry about him too. What are you going to do now?" Helga began to wonder that herself.

Her return couldn't have been timed more poorly. Three days before her train arrived in Hillwood, Arnold's grandfather passed away, oddly fulfilling his family curse, and his grandmother followed a day later, only there was some question as to how much of her passing she'd left up to nature. Arnold was beyond stricken, he was devastated. The boarding house had years before ceased to be a hostel, and instead served as the comfortable home to he and grandparents, but now Arnold found himself truly alone in the world. His sorrows ruled his life, and while he managed to make an appearance on the day of Helga's return, he was a frail husk of the sweet young boy of her youth. After the joyous reveries of welcome home party, Arnold quietly begged Helga and Phoebe's patience with him. He needed some time alone. Reluctantly, they agreed to give him a week of solitude, but demanded access back into his life after that time. Half smiling he agreed and they hugged him for all they were worth. The next morning, the worst blizzard in the history of Hillwood began in earnest...

Helga hesitated as she listened to Phoebe's quiet breathing in the phone.

"Helga? Are you there? Helga?"

"I'm here Phebes... I... I'm going to have to go through with this. I'm exhausted, and I don't think I have the energy to sneak back out of here and all the way home. It'd be kind of ironic for me to buy it while on a rescue mission. I... I think I'm going to have to beg his indulges, even if he plans on tossing me out."

"Helga, where are you? I mean, where in the house are you? Exactly?"

"His bedroom, upstairs. I don't think he's been living up here in a while. It's freezing up here."

"Um... should... should I try calling him again?... Helga?"

"... no... I'm going downstairs" she sighed as she rung off.

Taking a deep breath of the frosty air of Arnold's room, Helga opened the door and proceeded slowly down to the second floor. If anything, it seemed even more desolate the his old room, and she could almost make out the shapes of the doors to the tenant's old rooms. Halfway down the hall, she called out Arnold's name, almost in a half whisper, which seemed to fall straight to the ground in the cold dead air. He's in here somewhere, she thought, but obviously not up here.

As she neared the door to the stairs, she could just make out the soft, slow strains of a cool jazz rift, and for the first time that evening, felt some sense of hope. Just as she was reaching for the door, it swung open to reveal Arnold standing before her. While they had corresponded frequently, she'd never bothered to ask for a recent picture, and now REALLY regretted that decision. He stood easily six two, with a lean muscular build and the arms of a working man. He now wore a small, neatly trimmed goatee, and his abundant straw blonde hair was swept back off his rugged face and at her coming home party, she'd almost not recognized him.

He smiled slightly, "I guess it really was a bit much of me to expect that you'd actually listen to me for a change."

TO BE CONTINUED...

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	2. Chapter Two

Necropolitain by King Cheetah

These characters are from the sweat-beetled brow of Craig Bartlett... lucky stiff.  
Rated PG-13 cause I felt like it, and some characters might end up nude later. We'll see...  
Enjoy.

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Helga and Arnold stood on the second floor of the Sunset Arms boarding house, facing each other warily. Helga, still dressed to face the blizzard outside, stood with her back to the cold darkness of the upper reaches of the building, while Arnold stood in the doorway to the stairwell, framed by the warmth and soft amber glow of the downstairs, the cool sultry strain of a jazz CD drifting up to caress them. She was brimming with life, he felt dead inside. "I guess it really was a bit much of me to expect that you'd actually listen to me for a change." he said with a half smile and gestured for her to follow him down to the first floor. Arnold had been in the grips of deep despair after the deaths of his grandparents, and had moved to seal himself off from the outside world, but Helga and Phoebe weren't quite ready to give up on him just yet.

Reaching the landing, Helga began to peel off several of the layers of cold weather clothing she wore, as the first floor of boarding house seemed to be well into the eighties. Looking around, she was pleased to see that Arnold was not wallowing in self pity as the spotless look of the first floor rooms hinted that he'd been keeping himself busy. Every horizontal surface seemed to have a broad, round candle on it, softly sharing it's light and warmth with the master of the house. Their numbers in the hundreds, the entire downstairs seemed to be bathed in an even shadowless amber glow, and this went a long ways in explaining the heat. Looking to Arnold, he shrugged with a little smile,"Grandma went through a 'Summer of Love' phase about a year back. Made about a million candles... we were keeping them in Ernie's old room." Scrutinizing the candles more closely, Helga saw to her shock that each one was not merely a sphere, but rather a little smiley face, an odd contrast to Arnold's mood.

Helga continued to shed clothing as Arnold disappeared back into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of brandy and two small glasses. Setting about to pour the drinks, he raised an eyebrow as Helga, already down to her tank top, began to shed her blue jeans. "Don't get your hopes up, my jeans are soaked. Just behave yourself." she said with a warm smile. Walking out into the darkened dining room, he returned in a moment with a pair of cutoff shorts, which he tossed to her. A loose fit (to say the least), they were still better than parading about in panties. Her clothes set up to dry, she settled in on the couch next to Arnold and sipped her brandy. A fine bottle, it's taste was smooth and warmed her from within. Silent for a time, Arnold finished his drink and looked at her. "Thank you for coming. This really is sweet that you were worried." and he leaned over a placed a gentle kiss on her temple.

She looked up into his sad, tired eyes as she emptied her own glass,"Well... I know how I felt after my dad passed on, y'know... but with this weather and all, I... well, Phoebe and I were worried that you might really be in a bad spot. I... I hope this is okay with you." He just sat there, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. During Helga's black moments of grief, Arnold had been the embodiment of strength, always there, propping her up, reminding her of her humanity, giving her reasons to go on. Slowly, she reached over and laid her hand on his, which startled him from his wool gathering. She tried to say it all with her eyes, but finally said," Um,... remember all you did for me back when I was going through all this? It's... it's like you said, the best way to honor someone's memory is to live a life worthy of everything you learned from them. Remember that? It's true, you were right. You can't let this eat you..."

Rather than respond, he stood and began to slowly pace the room. The gently breezes of his passing sent the multitude of candle flames dancing, which resulted in the illusion of the very fabric of reality seeming to shimmer and shudder in Arnold's wake. "I... I might have been wrong about that. I think... I'm not sure I can deal with this kind of thing. Loss and all that." Helga started to stand, but thought better of it, "Arnold, of course you can! Look at all you did for me! I mean, you've been alright about... your parents up to now. This is the same thing, right?" He continued is pacing,"Not really. My parents were... an abstraction. I mean, I sorta knew I had them... but all the evidence was second hand. I didn't remember them. But Grandpa... Y'know, I've spent the last ten years doing everything I could not to think about it. I guess I knew he'd die one day, but it all seemed unreal..."

Suddenly, they were both startled by a high pitched rattling noise coming from somewhere in the room. Looking about, Arnold spotted the source; Helga's cell phone, the ringer set to vibrate, causing it to chatter and clack against the marble tabletop. Picking it up, he handed it to Helga.

"Hello?"

"Helga! It's Phoebe. Is everything alright? Have you found Arnold?"

"Calm down Phebes, He's right here, and everything's fine. We're talking right now." smiled Helga.

"Oh, thank goodness. I was REALLY getting worried. But if you two are safe..."

"Is that Phoebe? Can I talk to her?" asked Arnold, somewhat dispassionately.

Smiling, Helga handed him her phone.

"Hi Phoebe. Howya doin'?" he said softly.

"Oh Arnold, I'm so pleased that you're alright. We've both been so worried about you. But you sound much better now."

"Yeah..., well Helga and I were just comparing notes on personal loss..."

"Oh... uh, well. Um, I see..." Phoebe stammered

"I guess this sort of makes you odd girl out, eh? No real personal tragedies to add to the pile..." he said somewhat flatly.

"Ah... I suppose not. But... but I think I can still feel for your situations..."

"Unless of course, you got some loss of your own. Y'know, a few deaths in your life to even the playing field. Like... if you lost a pair of friends suddenly. Then I think you'd understand where Helga and I are..."

"A-Arnold... w-what are you talking about?" Phoebe was obviously shaken by the tenner of the conversation.

"What's the weather report look like, Phoebe? How's the storm coming along?"

"Huh? Oh... um, they say it should last for at least the next three days... p-possibly through the weekend... A-Are you going to be alright?"

"Well, let's see, I was totally unprepared for the storm, I didn't stock up on food, the powers out, and now Helga's stuck here with me... How do you rate our chances?" he said softly.

"A-ARNOLD! W-what are you going to do? We need to get someone to you!"

"We should risk more lives for us? I don't really see how my life is worth more than anyone else's. But hey, you'll understand how we feel. I mean, you'll really be able to relate..."

"Gimme that, jackass!" shrieked Helga as she snatched the phone from Arnold,"Phebes? ...Hey, he was just messing with you. We'll be alright. Don't worry about it. It's gonna be okay."

"But Helga, what about food and no power..." Phoebe was crying now.

"Phebes, it's gonna be alright! Trust me! I brought some supplies with me. We'll be okay... really!" said Helga, almost believing it herself. Arnold seemed to be trying to get the phone back, as Helga slapped at his hands. Finally, she pushed him back and fled into the darkened kitchen, Arnold in hot pursuit.

"A-Are you sure. I mean, really sure. Helga I couldn't stand to lose the two of you..."

"Phoebe, just put that notion right out of your head. Look, let me talk to Arnold, I'll call you right back."

She put away the phone and turned to see Arnold back lit in the doorway of the kitchen. "That was probably the shittiest stunt I think I've ever seen in my life. What was the point of that bit of cruelty? You mind telling me that? What was that suppose to accomplish?"

He was silent for the moment, then said softly, almost in a whisper,"She needed to be prepared... if we didn't make it through this. She needed to... understand what we've gone through..."

"Mister, it is not your place to decide who feels what and when! You've just guaranteed that she won't sleep a wink for a few days."

Again, the silence, then, "Helga... did Phoebe ever tell you about... us? She and I? We were... close for a little while a few years back." he seemed almost apologetic. "It didn't last long... we... broke up on good terms and all. We're still close, but... I needed to be straight with her. I'm sorry... but that was just between us."

"You don't think we'll make it?" Helga sounded genuinely surprised. He shrugged.

"Like I said... we're not really prepared for this. I'm not sure what we're going to do. Think we can make the trek out of here? Phoebe's house is only five blocks away. I guess we could try that."

But Helga's attention was drawn by something else. Stepping forward, Arnold assume she was coming to embrace him, but instead she edged past him, her brow furrowed as she was seeing something she wasn't quite getting. Turning, he saw what was causing her consternation; the soft light from the living room looked... odd. As one, they gasp as they entered to find several of the candles had tipped in their struggle... and the room was in full blaze.

To Be Continued

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	3. Chapter Three

Necropolitan by King Cheetah

These characters are from the sweat-beetled brow of Craig Bartlett... lucky stiff.  
Rated PG-13 cause I felt like it, and some characters might end up nude later. We'll see...  
Enjoy.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Arnold and Helga stood agog at the scene in the living room. Evidently, during the struggle for the control of Helga's cell phone, Arnold had disturbed several of his grandmothers smiley face candles, and inadvertently set the room ablaze. The fire had already covered one wall and half the length of the carpet, and seemed intent on making up for lost time. The heat had a pronounced effect on the remaining candles, as they began to soften and sag, their jovial expressions became more pensive and dour. Helga looked to Arnold,"Where's some buckets!" Stern faced, Arnold replied,"There's no water. We'll have to try braving the outside. Get as much of your clothes back on as you can manage..."

Quickly ducking into the fire, Helga grabbed as much of smoldering cold weather gear as she could safely reach and retreated into the foyer to suit up, constantly eyeing the fire's progress. Reappearing in his own parka, Arnold nodded to her and said,"Let's get out of here,"

"Wha- oh, okay. Aren't you taking anything?" Helga was unnerved by his calm.

Silent for a moment, he whispered,"Everything is right where it belongs..."

"Uh, alright... how we getting out? The front doors iced shut. That's why I came in up top." she gestured.

"The back door's been blocked off for a year or more... Hmmmmm..."

"Y-you think we can make it out from the top?" she asked expectantly.

"Nah... hold on." and he turned and disappeared into the inky gloom of the dining room. As she finished dressing, she heard a grinding, scrapping sound emanating for the dining room, them a large shape begin to emerge. Staring in disbelief, she watched as the families upright piano rolled into view, it's ancient casters now purring with new life. Standing from behind it's furtherest face, Arnold said," C'mon, I think we're only going to get one shot at this."

Taking her place beside him, she braced herself and readied to push. Looking into his still green eyes, she shoved at the count of three. A mighty scream and they were off and gaining an impressive head of steam. Ahead, the fire had filled the living room and was making it's first tentative explorations out into the hall. Both screaming at the top of their lungs, they let loose of the now speeding piano as it beat a hasty retreat. Striking the front door head on, it smashed it completely off it's hinges and out onto the front stoop where it fell, forming an instant ramp over the stairs. Not having even come close to expending it's energies, the piano slid merrily down the now supine front door, did a somersault on the sidewalk, and finally came to rest upright in the middle of the street, it's shining white keys an open invitation to the next pass of the city snowplow.

Dodging the flames, Arnold and Helga followed the piano into the street, then once a safe distance away, turned to look back at the boarding house. A soft glow in the second floor window indicated the fires progress, and a crashing roar and similar glow from the basement window hinted that the living room floor had collapsed. Arnold looked on silently at the old boarding house's new tenants and mused that he hoped they enjoyed their new home as much as the previous ones had. Turning him to face her, Helga brushed his hair from his face and drew him to her for a kiss. "I am SO sorry, Arnold." she whispered. But he seemed at peace. Hugging her, he whispered," It's okay. There was no place in there for the living. I was just intruding..." Oblivious to the heavy snowfall around them, they set off in the direction of Phoebe's apartment.

There is almost no describing Phoebe's reaction to their arrival. Helga and Arnold both had neglected to retrieve their cell phones during the mad rush out of the building, and as such showed up on her doorstep unannounced. Tearful and in a joyous panic, she ran back and forth between the two hugging and kissing them in between machine gun bursts of incoherent speech. Finally collected, she wiped away tears as she made soup for the pair, though Arnold asked for a hot shower first. As he disappeared into the bathroom, Helga leaned against the counter top and smiled at Phoebe, "So... you and Arnold were an item, eh?" The small woman wilted before Helga's eyes.

"I-I'm sorry Helga! I-It was an accident. We didn't mean to... it... it just sort of happened...we..."

"Phoebe, calm down. Truth be told, I knew ALL about this." Helga grinned slyly.

"Y-You KNEW! But... HOW!" Phoebe looked close to tears again.

Cocking her head to one side, she raised an eyebrow,"You two's letters. It wasn't what you said, but rather what you didn't say that was the clue. I have four years worth of mail from each of you, so I know how you talk, the rhythm of your speech, how you present your ideas..." She crossed her arms," A year and a half ago, you both stopped talking about each other in the letters... you filled me in on ALL the latest doings of everyone else... but were oddly silent about each other. This went on for about eight months, then all of the sudden, not only are you talking about each other again, but you're both falling all over yourselves telling me how close we all are and how much you both love me. It's called 'conspicuous ommission'..." she grinned.

Phoebe looked more ashamed than Helga had ever seen her in her entire life,"I... I'm sorry Helga... we didn't mean to hurt you. It just..." said Phoebe, eyes downcast, her tears making a comeback.

Stepping forward, Helga scooped her little friend into a warm loving hug,"..hey, hey...none of that." she said gently, "I was upset at first, but losing Arnold as a boyfriend was preferable to losing you both as friends. Really, I mean that. Funny thing is, I'd just come to terms with it and decided I could live with it when you two broke up." she laughed and gave Phoebe a little hug. "Okay Phebes, tell me the truth now, no shit... is it over between you two?"

Phoebe muzzled against Helga's bosom as she thought, then softly answered,"Pretty much... yes, I think so."

"Do you still have feeling for Arnold? Shoot straight with me, I mean it..."

After a small eternity, Phoebe whispered softly,"...yes..." then tightened her grip on Helga's waist.

"But... he has it bad for me, right? Yeah, I thought so. My Christmas visit that year was... intense, as I recall. Did um,... did you two make love?"

Again, she choked out a whispered 'yes' them sought more physical reenforcement from her friend.

"Phoebe, it's okay. I'm not upset. But... does Arnold know how you feel? Have you talked to him?" Phoebe pulled back from Helga, eyes wide with panic.

"Oh please Helga, don't! He... he thinks we agreed about the breakup, but I... He just loves you so much, and... I love you. I... I thought it was for the best..."

Helga softly chuckled as she drew Phoebe back into her embrace,"Y'know, he was really worried about you when we thought we were stuck out there. That nonsense on the phone was his own inept little way of bracing you for the worst... if we didn't make it. He was... scared that he was saying his goodbyes to you. He really does still care about you..." she began to slowly rock back and forth as she hugged her, "We talked about a lot of stuff on the way over here... our past, plans for the future, but especially you and him. I think his feelings for you aren't quite as final as you may think..."

Phoebe looked up at Helga, a hundred years of worry were squeezed into her two soft brown eyes. So much of their lives, the three of them, seemed to be a never ending loop of unfinished business. Arnold and Helga, Phoebe and Arnold, Helga and Phoebe... Their lives and feelings for each other were so hopelessly entangled, a Gordian knot of the heart. None could live without the others, but how to follow their hearts without someone getting hurt. What Helga had never realized was that both Arnold and Phoebe had been drawn into the airy dreamworld of their letter writing as well. Each had become so wrapped up in Helga, that the set the world around them aside. Only the three of them existed, everything else was merely window dressing; surface gross to be recorded for Helga's amusement.

"If you two are going to keep that up, at least let me set up a web cam so we can make some cash off this..." Arnold stood in the doorway, shirtless, fluff drying his hair with a towel. Laughing nervously, Phoebe disengaged from Helga and headed for the back, "I'll... get the futan set up for you guys. Um..."

Watching her go, Arnold walked over and stood before Helga, towel draped over his shoulders. Looking deeply into his eyes, Helga smiled and began running her fingers across his bare chest. Arnold, who'd spent much of his young life councilling and consoling others, found out suddenly that he had no words to ease his own pain. By now, the boarding house, and for that matter everything of his childhood, was embers. He was truly starting with a clean slate... except where she and Phoebe were concerned...

He moved forward to kiss her, but she stopped him with a warm smile and her fingers gently to his lips, "...whoah there, cowboy. I think you and the lady have some unfinished business to attend to."

"Phoebe?" he asked, a little baffled.

"Doi! Yes Phoebe. You both have fooled yourselves into thinking it's over, but you're not even close." Helga said with a soft caress of his cheek. Ignoring his weak protest, she said, "Arnold, you know we both love you, but she really needs you right now. You and I are more at ease in the world, but Phebe's still that shy little girl we grew up with. After that shit with Gerald, then Brainy, I didn't think she'd ever be able to trust anyone ever again. When I realized that you two were...'close', that was the one thing that helped me deal with losing you... that it was to her. I knew how deep your love could be, and if you had to give it to someone else, she'd always be my first pick. I was so hoping that you could make her whole again."

"I... um, it was kind of by accident, y'know. We were both so intent on showing you how much we cared about you that... we, um... kind of fell into each others arms. It was that one link we had, that one shared secret, y'know?"

Helga nodded. It was pretty much as she'd guessed. From there, intimacy became passion, them love. Wracked with guilt, they couldn't do without each other, but their love was eating them from within. His green eyes cleared as she looked into them, "Helga, I love you... I just don't know what to do about this..."

"Arnold, you know I love you... I think you've always known how I felt, whether you admitted it or not, and I can't think of anything that will change that... EVER. But... I love her too, and if your love can get her back on her feet... well, what do you think I'd do? I've waited ten to admit to you how I felt, and I can wait another ten years for you if I have to. But we... all three of us need to take this slow and stop trying to rush things. I'm actually confident it will all work out if we just give it time." and Helga gave him a little hug.

"And if... Phoebe and I stay together...?"

"Then I'll toast you at your wedding, I'll babysit your children, and I'll love the both of you til the day I die. Period. Maybe it'll work out like that, maybe she'll find love in someone else. We'll see... but I'm willing to roll those dice, and take my chances."

Arnold just held her quietly for a while, gently rocking her. "Arnold... I think you two would be good for each other in the short term. Besides, you're going to need someplace to live." she reached up and turned his head to face her,"Are you going to be alright about... the boarding house? I mean, all your stuff..."

"Naw, it's okay. It was kind of stupid thinking I could get over the past by wallowing in it. You were right to leave town to get over your dad, I wish I'd thought of that..." he sighed.

They started as Phoebe reentered the kitchen, looking somewhat embarrassed, as though she'd interrupted something.

"I have your bed ready, if you'd like to turn in..."

The futan was actually surprisingly comfortable, and on the largish side. Arnold stretched out in it's center and Helga beside him next to the wall. As Phoebe dimmed the lights, she knelt to gather up some blankets and an extra pillow.

"And just where do you think you're going young lady?" said Helga authoritatively.

"I...I was going to sleep on the couch... I thought that you two would..."

"...Like nothing better than our best friend's body heat on this cold winter night. Get over here and do your part." grinned Arnold, his eyed quite closed.

"A-Are you sure? I... I don't want to interfere... if you... want to... um, ..."

"Oh for Pete's sake Phebes. Sex is the last thing on my mind. Get your ass under the covers" groaned Helga.

Reluctantly, but with a little grin, Phoebe shimmied out of her jeans and slipped under the covers beside Arnold. Faster than thought, Arnold's arm shot out to scoop her in close next to him. Laying her head on his chest, she looked over to Helga, laying similarly on his other side. Reaching over him, Helga took Phoebe's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Tomorrow, we'll all sit down for a serious talk about our future together... the three of us."

Phoebe looked a little confused,"A good talk?"

"I think so" grinned Helga, and patted her hand.

They lay in silence for a moment before Arnold said, "Dear Penthouse Forum, I used to think your letters were all made up until a recent experience caused me to write..."

Giggling, the girls punched him gently as Helga said, "Shut up, Football head..."

To Be Continued

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	4. Chapter Four

Necropolitan by King Cheetah

These characters are from the sweat-beetled brow of Craig Bartlett... lucky stiff.

Rated T cause I felt like it, and some characters might end up nude later. We'll see...  
Enjoy.

Necropolitain Writers Notes - Chapters 1-3

Hey all, thanks for reading Necropolitan I hope you're enjoying it. Arnold and Helga dealt with personal loss in different ways, and show the polar opposites in their coping mechanisms. If you watch carefully in several episodes, Arnold demonstrates that while he's good at dealing with other peoples problems, he seldom seems to take his own advise, and really wasn't prepared for the inevitable deaths of his grand parents. Now he and Helga both are entering adulthood with clean slates in Hillwood, she from a life waway and he with his past pretty much erased.

For those of you that are keeping track of such things, this story was heavily influenced by a video game called "Silent Hill" and it's sequel "Silent Hill 2". These games are my latest fascination, due to the weird, spooky air to it and the ghastly inhuman threats within the haunted seaside resort town of Silent Hill. That's why the first chapter was structured as it was, to try and get the same creepy feeling. But the wierdness has only just begun... I initially posted this in mid 2003, but pulled it to clean it up and rethink a few parts of it. All in all, I think it still holds up pretty well.

While I hadn't really planned on doing anything with this set up beyond Necropolitan, I'm having a lot of fun writing these characters. You'll shortly be introduced to the power trio of the high school basketball team, Arnold, Stinky and Sid. These three are tight friends, and as you read on I'll give hints as to what's become of a lot of the other characters as time has passed. All I ask is that you stick with the story to the very end, because some things will happen in the next three chapters that I KNOW will tick off some fans, but have faith... everything works out fine in the end.

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Arnold awoke about 2:00 AM in Phoebe's bedroom, not an all together new experience for him. It had been six months since the last time... as before, he awoke on his side, arms and body curled around the small, delicate angel whose futan he shared. As before, she fit within the curve of his body to perfection, her soft, tiny hands raised to grasp his in slumber.

Her breathing an intoxicating purr, he couldn't help but draw in his limbs slowly to enjoy the feeling of so much of her against so much of him. She stirred only slightly, and without waking, kissed his hand. So beautiful like this, she was enjoying a peace that she only derived from his presence. But this night, a new twist was added. Behind him, he heard the soft snores of Helga G. Pataki, who this night also shared Phoebe's futan.

With the patient control of a ninja, Arnold slowly untangle himself from the delicious woman beside him and rose from the bedding without rousing either partner. Spectral, he moved from the bedroom and out into the kitchen. His sleep patterns had gone all to hell since the deaths of his grandparents, the last of his known family, save for his cousin Arnie and his extended family.

Small naps and irregular periods of waking filled his days, for grief has a timeless quality that shows flagrant disregard for the sun's movements. A quick check of the fridge revealed various juices, milk and beer for Helga's anticipated visits. However tempting the drafts were a nagging voice within guided his hand to the orange juice pitcher, but in a show of machismo, he vowed to drink it all straight from the container.

By now, nothing remained of his past, the errant flames from Grandma's hippie candles had no doubt reduced the boarding house to rumor, as the relentless snow would smother all traces of the husk til the thaw. Gone... but not forgotten. He felt a twinge of regret as now he realized that he should have embraced the love freely offered by the two women in his life, rather than cloister with the dead in a fading local. Alone, he fell in on himself and dropped into deep despair over his loss, instead of serving the memory of his family with pride.

OJ in hand, he opened the blinds on the bay window and looked out into the blizzarded night. The snow raged madly in the blue-white arc of the street lights, like a billion crytaline insects, their lifespan as long as needed to reach the earth. A cold dead city, he mused, but like maggots, we wriggle and feed beneath your white skin, as with death always comes new life.

Wiping the stray bits of orange pulp from his lips, Arnold considered the new life sprung from the old. The death of Helga's father had taken her from him, yet given her back to him stronger and more alive than had the man lived. In her absence, he and Phoebe had practiced a type of necropathy with Helga through their letters; the very life drained from her by Big Bob's passing, she was all but dead when they waved goodbye at the airport.

Slowly over time, their scriptic Ouija board bore fruit as she slowly rose anew from her ashes. Likewise, he and Phoebe had become so engrossed in Helga's rebirth, they all but faded from view to the people around them; they lived in this world, but not of the world. Their reports, her responses, that became their exitance. And as the last living man and woman on Earth, they naturally fell into each others arms.

Phoebe had always been in need of a strong guiding hand in her relationships, as while brilliant with facts and hard data, she was awkward and ill at ease with the subtle subjective nature of dealing with people. Helga had always been the id of their pairing, she the ego. With Helga gone, she'd slowly looked to Arnold for that strength, and without understanding why, he grew to need her also. He was a romantic of the highest order, thoughtful, graceful, needful of love in exchange for the love he so desperately needed to give.

As Helga's letters carried a weight limit on affection, a more immediate repository became needed, in the form of one Phoebe Heyerdahl. Neither remembered the moment of realization of their feelings, nor the consummation of their love, but when done, both felt as if it had always been this way. Arnold and Phoebe, always and forever... They were insatiable, ravenous, gluttonous as they feasted on each others love, the subject of Helga always with then, but never openly acknowlegded lest they wake from this dream they shared.

Juice pitcher drained, Arnold laid back on the couch and scrutinized the ceiling as he thought. He felt... what for Helga exactly? Love? Yes, but was it equal to his feelings for Phoebe? Over the years, he'd glimpsed Helga's true feelings for him through her correspondence, and began to love the idea of loving her. But love of the unseen, this love by proxy was a tricky thing. It was oh so easy to be suave and cool when you had several days to consider your words and actions, and while they seemed a perfect match at the speed of the US Postal Service, would they be so good a pairing face to face.

It was so easy to love Phoebe, but something had told them both that they should set their feelings aside for Helga's love. They happily agreed that she and Arnold were the perfect match and spent the rest of their days desperately trying to convince themselves of it...

Arnold would give up Phoebe... for Helga.

Phoebe would give up Arnold... for Helga.

They lied to each other and lied to themselves, and worst of all, lied to Helga. Both assured her that the perfect mate, the man of her dreams awaited her in Hillwood. Arnold sighed as he stood to return to bed. Outside, the ice flies continued their manic dance in the street lights, the wind adding a sense of violent lust to this mating ritual.

Returning to the bedroom, his two companions showed no awareness of his leaving, but had instead moved to compensate for the heat loss his absence had brought. Helga had rolled over into the center of the bedding and now rested soundly in the loving embrace of Phoebe, a vaguely erotic image to be sure. Grinning at the new pairing, he stealthily resumed a place under the covers in Helga's old spot.

How fitting that she had once again come between he and Phoebe...

With the gentle prompting of the grey light leaking into the room through the blinds, Phoebe awoke at about 8:30 AM. Groggily, she sat up and cast a glance over at her bed mates, surprised to find that some manner of Chinese fire drill had occurred during the night. Helga, now in the center of the bed between she and Arnold, seemed reluctant to relinquish her grip on the little woman, and it took some amount of squirming to slip from her grasp without waking her.

Standing, she looked about the room for her pants, but decided to shower up instead. One last look over to Arnold, sleeping with his back to Helga. Last night... She'd awakened at midnight to find him wrapped around her, so good... so right, and yet by agreement, not to be. Finding herself in his arms again was like a dream. Softly, she moved to the head of the futan to gently run her fingers through his hair. A kiss to his cheek and she was off to shower.

As a sign of her Japanese heritage, she preferred her showers scolding hot, as did Arnold, incidentally. For a time she just slowly turned in the steaming spray, letting the heat rush over her as washing turned to wishing. Arnold had often shared this space with her more than a few times and she reveled in the memories of his careful attentions. Their shared showers were not mere erotic play, but rather a cherished shared time together. All his energies were actually spent in cleaning, not horseplay, her favorite moments being the thorough shampoos she received at his hands. That was their relationship in a nutshell; erotic, but not wanton. Little of their time together was spent in actual sex, but every moment was thick with a delicious, sensual undercurrent. Everything Arnold did with her seemed to have a breathless sensual quality to it, be it doing the dishes to just watching TV together.

But she was hesitant to truly enjoy his proximity now that Helga had returned. How could she stand in the way of the rightness of Arnold and Helga? She'd loved him since preschool, for as long as THEY'D been friends as a matter of fact. It hadn't occurred to her before, but their fates had always been intertwined. Helga and Phoebe's unbreakable friendship, Helga's manic, obsessive fascination with Arnold, Phoebe's tacit support of this mania over the years, and Phoebe constantly being drawn back into Arnold's orbit through Gerald or Helga. The three of them, a braided moebius strip. Forever weaving back and forth across each other. Perhaps it was time to cut the strip... Perhaps she should gracefully step aside and let their love take hold. As much as she loved Arnold, she loved Helga even more, and it was time that she got a little happiness in her life.

Showered and dressed, she gave thought to her guests. Breakfast might be in order, but given what a rough day the two of them had previously, they might stay in bed quite a bit longer. In bed... together.

She sighed and tried to convince herself it was for the best.

Helga opened her eyes, trapped in that Buddha moment in waking where she was aware of nothing. Who, where, or even what she was. She merely was...

Then, in a languid, leisurely pace, her identity began to slowly reassert itself. After a moment, she was again fully aware of everything. Looking over her shoulder at the soft shape of Arnold, she smiled to herself. Why must three people so close to each other spend so much of their energies deceiving each other? She loved him, but knew she shouldn't.

Seeing Arnold and Phoebe together brought the last three years into sharp focus. She had clung to a school girl crush, while Arnold had fallen in love with a person that existed nowhere but in his head. She could never truly be the woman in his mind's eye, this madonna in tight jeans, this flawless phantom that haunted him. His true love had been by his side all this time, though neither he nor Phoebe seemed to be ready to accept this fact.

Slipping out of bed, she collected herself and retreated to the bathroom for a cleanup. Showered, she realized that she had no toiletries and was loathe to use Phoebe's without asking. Well, maybe a bit of mouthwash would be alright. Dressed again, she wandered out to find Phoebe looking out the big bay window at the relentless blizzard. Seeing Helga, Phoebe sprang to life, "Morning! Up for some breakfast?" she grinned.

Walking up behind her little friend, Helga slowly snaked her arms around Phoebe's waist and pulled her back as together they slid back onto the arm of the couch. Resting her head on her shoulder, they both looked out at the raging storm as Helga whispered, "I think we need to talk first..."

To Be Continued

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	5. Chapter Five

Necropolitan by King Cheetah

These characters are from the sweat-beetled brow of Craig Bartlett... lucky stiff. Rated T cause I felt like it, and some characters might end up nude later. We'll see...  
Enjoy.

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Arnold awoke for the second time that morning, but on instinct, didn't open his eyes. Lying motionless, he sought to sense the world around him. The girls were gone, or at the very least not in the futan with him. He could just make out the faint dying traces of incense Phoebe had burn in this room... sandlewood, and the delicious aroma of her on the bedding.

Phoebe...

Licking his lips, he resumed his blind exploration of his environment. Stilling himself within, he listened... Outside, the wind and snow... the city snowplow passing, as it seemed to do every four and a half hours... a deep rumble that he couldn't identify... something, possibly a cockroach rustling about in the waste basket by her computer stand... the muffled sounds of Helga and Phoebe talking in the kitchen... then... tinkling. A familiar tinkling sound, like metal gently tapped to porcelain... or...

Arnold opened his eyes and sat up, and there, sitting at Phoebe's desk was... 'Phil'. It was a near simulecra of his grandpa, but somehow... off. This time however, he had no eyes. The 'Phil' thing sat at the desk with a china cup and saucer at it's elbow, a golden spoon moving back and forth in the cup in some odd parody of stirring. He looked straight into the black, empty eye sockets of the 'Phil' thing as it opened it's mouth and wheezed, "I Never Really Investigated..." and it's mouth remained hanging open as it continued the only activity it seemed to know, stirring. He thought when he left the boarding house that these ghastly visions would stop... evidently not.

This was the forth visit from the 'Phil' thing, the other coming in his days of self imposed exile within the boarding house, and all things considered, were preferable to the visits of the 'Pookie' thing. These peculiar ghost of his grandparents were starting to reveal a pattern. Each visit, a near likeness of his grandfather would appear to him, and each time it would be maimed in a different way, much as this one was missing it's eyes, and would say four words to him.

These were unnerving enough, but the 'Pookie' things were far worse. As if to reflect his grandmothers constant dementia, the 'Pookie' things would appear as horrific constructs, almost visual puns with the sweet sanguine voice of his grandma emanating from it. Ghastly in just how inhuman these things were, it was a lot harder to deal with than the horrific simulecra of his grandpa.

With each visit he received a senseless four word message, three from the 'Phil' thing and four from the 'Pookie' thing.

I Never Read Ivanhoe

It's Not Right Inside

Ingred Noticed Raging Iris'

Imps Night Rally Invitation

I'm Not Really Inflammable

I Nourished Roscoes Irishmen

I'll Need Reinforced Insouls

I'd Never Rule Iceland

They meant something, but he had no idea what.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and slowly the tinkling sound faded and was gone.

Looking up, he was alone again. "I thought you wanted me out of the boarding house?" he said aloud, "What is it now?" He tried to calm himself. There did indeed seem to be a vague rhythm or pattern to the visitations, but he just wasn't quite grasping it. No eyes... stirring... I Never Really Investigated... Don't force the parts, let it just bubble around in your head awhile. Standing, He grabbed his shirt and headed for the kitchen.

Helga rested against the arm of the couch, Phoebe snuggled into her arms as they watched the blizzard go through it's paces. As if realizing it was being observed, the billowing winds seemed to whip the snow around in ever more elaborate patterns for their amusement. The smaller woman felt good in her arms, almost like a part of herself, and for her part Phoebe loved the feeling of a loved one so close. Resting her head on Phoebe's shoulder, Helga whispered, "We need to have a little talk..."

They were lightly dressed due to the warmth of Phoebe's apartment, and the comfort they felt in each others presence. Both were clad only in panties and t-shirts, while Helga had taken the extra step of sliding on a pair of knee socks. The three were so close that modesty seemed to be more of an ostentatious display that nudity would be, and even that might only get polite glances...

Private girlhood moments, while half remembered were cherished and stored away for those moments when unquestioning love so needed to be brought back out into conscious thought. They'd grown into womanhood together, and shared secrets from all but each other.

"Um, okay... Helga, I... I've been thinking this morning and... I think it would be better if Arnold went to live... with you. The both of you need some privacy... to, um... catch up on the lost years. I'm really sure that would be the best for all..." Unseen by Helga, Phoebe's eyes were squeezed shut as she told one of the few lies to her friend that she could tolerate.

"Naw Phebes, he's staying right here. End of discussion." said Helga with a little squeeze. So predictable... I knew you'd be the one to try and fall on the sword for us, thought Helga wryly.

"B-But Helga, The two of you..." cried Phoebe softly, taking on blame not offered for a crisis that was there.

"...Have nothing between us as strong as the feelings that you two share. Look, I've had a LONG time to think about this, and I truly believe you two need to let your relationship play through. You both cut it short because you thought you were doing me some kind of big favor, right?" Her eyes were a sanctuary, open to her little friend with offers of solace and unquestioning love.

You can never hurt me Phebes, you just don't have it in you, she mused.

Phoebe wriggled from Helga's grasp to turn and face her, "B-But Helga, you and Arnold... all your life... I-I... " she was almost whispering, as she wrung her hands. What had she done to spoil the love between Arnold and Helga? How could she atone for this wanton behavior that selfishly crushed a love so true? She suddenly saw herself as a wicked temptress, luring poor Arnold into her grasp and mocking poor Helga in her sorrow.

Helga sighed and treated Phoebe to her best disarming smile, "Phebe's... you still love him, he still loves you... what exactly do we accomplish if Arnold gets involved with me with those feelings still in the air, hmmm? Is it some sort of great thing for me to watch as you two shoot each other sad little looks when the three of us are together? I'm suppose to be okay with it when Arnold calls out your name in his sleep... or during less appealing moments? Do you think I'm so selfish that I could just take Arnold from you without looking back? Is that what you think?" She reached out to run her fingers gently down Phoebe's cheek.

"B-But Helga... What about you?" she said, nuzzling her head against Helga's soft hand.

"I've been alright with this for months, girl. I think you two should just go back to your relationship and let it work out on it's own. Who knows, after a while you two may just decide that you're not meant to be. But I'd really feel better if we all know for sure just where we all stand, okay?" she grinned as she reached out to take Phoebe's hands.

"Are... are you sure about this? I mean, what will you... 'do' in the mean time?" as visions of Helga sitting glumly alone in a dimly lit Efficiency Apartment filled with hostile overweight cats filled Phoebe's head.

Helga threw her head back and laughed, "Why, I'll hang out with my two best friend's in the world every chance I can get. And do a little dating of my own..." she smiled slyly.

"Helga! You'd date other boys... other than Arnold!" Phoebe looked truly shocked.

Raising an eyebrow, Helga crossed her arms and cocked her head to one side, "Phoebe... you read my letters. You KNOW that I dated in high school... A LOT! I'll be alright. It's not like I'm some cringing wallflower. Hell, we can double date; it'll be fun." Phoebe nodded, but obviously wasn't sold on this. 

"Helga... are you REALLY sure about this? I mean, you're not just being kind or anything..." Phoebe asked meekly, as she slowly began to accept absolution for her imagined sins.

Again the confident grin, "I'm sure. It's in everyone's best interest if we're all honest about our feelings. And I can say in all honesty that I'm really, really, REALLY okay with you and Arnold being together... really. I am... truly." and began to draw her friend back into her arms.

Returning to Helga's embrace, Phoebe hugged her furiously as she whispered, "... thank you. I... I really like being with Arnold... This means so much to me. You're really sure? I love him so much, and if you approve..."

Smiling, Helga returned the hug and gently kissed her little friend's forehead, "I know... It's painfully obvious that you two like being together... Just don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine with this and I'm fine with you two, and I'm fine with me. Alright?"

Behind them, Arnold dramatically cleared his throat, "Okay, you win. You two go have fun and I'll just move on and try to find love elsewhere... either of you have Lila's number?" he said as he playfully reached for the phone.

Laughing, Phoebe broke from Helga's grasp and ran giggling to grab Arnold in her own bear hug, "What could that airhead give you that you can't get right here? NOTHING, that's what!" she grinned, nuzzling her head into his chest.

Casting a look Helga's way, Arnold saw her grin slyly and shoot him the thumbs up...

As Phoebe set about to make breakfast for the three, Helga repeated her conversation with Arnold and got him up to speed on the situation. His deep green eyes glistened as he quietly thanked Helga for her blessings on their union, but quietly chided her for her duplicity. "You know full well that Phoebe and I are for keeps," he whispered, "What's with all this crap about seeing if we break up after a while? You don't believe we will any more than I do..." But Helga just smiled and sipped her coffee...

After a light breakfast and LOTS of coffee, Helga and Phoebe settled onto the couch to watch the Weather Channel, as Arnold grabbed up the phone.

"Hello?" asked Sid, breathlessly, as he toweled sweat from his brow.

"Running a Marathon in your bathroom?" smiled Arnold

"Arnold! DUDE, are... are you alright? Things okay over there?"

"I dunno, the boarding house burned to the ground, and Helga and I are stranded over here at Phoebe's apartment, and I have absolutely no money or clothes... yeah, couldn't be better..."Arnold grinned.

"Boy Howdy, sounds like the Life of Riley to me. Christ, the house burned down? Jeez dude, when it rains it pours. But, uh... you are okay, right? I mean... y'know..." Sid was the master subtilty.

"Guy-O, I'm alive again. It feels good. We both got out in one piece and I guess that's what counts. Thanks for bein' around when I needed it... y'know? I just needed to get that crap outta my system..." sighed Arnold.

"No sweat, dude. Anything for a bud. What's the plans now? Dj'you say Helga was there too? She's alright too, right?"

"Yeah, she's fine, but we're both kinda stuck over here til the storm eases up. I gotta find a place to crash when this is all over, come to think of it."

"Mi casa es su casa, mi amigo. I can have my mom fix up the spare bedroom, it's no problem at all. You still got your car?"

"No, the Buick went down with the ship, but Stinky still has the Packard. I might need to sell that beast off to get some living capital..." he mused.

"Sell the 'S.S. STEELY PHIL' ! No way! Let's not do anything hasty Arnoldo. That Packard should ALWAYS belong to you." said Sid dramatically. That car, though actually Arnold's, was freely shared and cherished by the three friend's and was a notorious chick magnet.

"Yeah, well we'll see. Do me a favor and give the Stink Meister a call; let him know I'm back in the land of the living. We all need to sit down once hell stops freezing over and make some plans. I got some catchin' up to do."

"Copy that. As soon as he comes up for air, I'll have him call you..." said Sid.

"Say wha- hold on now, did... did the Stinker make his move? Please tell me it's true!"

"I'm not sayin' nothing, but all I know is that Sheena's pickup truck is still parked in front of his place, and that's all I'm sayin'..." grinned Sid with no small amount of pride.

"YES!" cried Arnold, pumping his fist in the air, "I knew we'd get him laid!"

"Hey hey, what's this 'we' crap? I'm the one that put in overtime on those two." laughed Sid. To anyone who saw them for even an evening, Stinky and Sheena were the perfect couple, though the one holdout to this assessment was Stinky. Sid, and to a lesser degree Arnold worked tirelessly for the past five weeks to get the ice broken between the two, and finally there was some small hint that the seeds of a relationship had taken root.

A few more minutes of locker room chat, and Arnold made his goodbyes. With entrance into high school, new friendships and alliances formed to reflect the new world that the gang found themselves in, and as such Arnold, Sid, and Stinky had become the best of friends due in no small part to the trios unquestioned dominance of the school basketball team. In school and out, the three became closer than brothers and one of the bunch of guys to be associated with. Graduation behind them, they sought to continue their union into college.

Heading back into the living room, he said, "Well whattaya know, I finally come in and you two aren't making out. How's the weather looking?"

Giggling, Phoebe scootched over and patted the couch beside her, "It actually seems to be breaking up a bit. They say it could be diminishing by tomorrow evening." she grinned, "The weather lady advised us to snuggle up close to someone tonight..." she smiled through half lidded eyes. Arm around her, Arnold cast a quick glance to Helga who was all smiles. Okay, as long as she was cool with this, and drew Phoebe into his arms.

"Go ahead and ask Arnold, Phebes." smiled Helga, "See what he thinks..."

"Ask me about what?"

"How would you feel about you, me and Helga getting a place together? Y'know, we can live together and share expenses. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Arnold sat wide eyed and silent for a time before saying, "With or without the Web Cam, cause knowing you two, that would go along way in paying the bills..."

To Be Continued

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	6. Chapter Six

Necropolitan by King Cheetah

These characters are from the sweat-beetled brow of Craig Bartlett... lucky stiff. Rated T cause I felt like it, and some characters (namely, Arnold and Helga)might just end up nude later. We'll see...

Let me just say a few things about a few of the recent stories I'm working on. Right now, my writing fascination is with "Necropolitan", "The Strangers In My House", and "Braided together", all three of which are byzantine and subtle; all I ask is that you be patient and stick with the stories a bit because TRUST ME, none of the situations are as they seem. Lots of twists and turns, lots of intrigue. But I promise you, when all is said and done, you'll probably be happy with it. Critiques I'm okay with, but not whining, and especially from Arnold/Helga shippers. Chances are good that you've made it through all 100 episodes without Helga confessing her feeling to Arnold, it won't kill you to go through a dozen chapters of story without it either. Arnold and Phoebe together in chapter four doesn't mean Arnold and Phoebe together in chapter nine. Just give me and all the other fictioneers a chance, you just might be surprised at what you get.

Enjoy.

PS- NO reviews for "Burning Love"! Did anyone even read it? Sigh...

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This was all a little much to deal with so early in the morning and on so little coffee. Arnold sat mulling over Phoebe's suggestion. The three of them... living together? Notions of carnality aside, this seemed like a sound enough idea, but what had prompted Phoebe bring it up?

"Ummmm, okay sure. Make your case. I mean, what brought this on?" asked Arnold as he stroked her hair. They were relaxing in the livingroom, in various stages of dress, he in jeans and a tanktop, the girls in panties and t-shirts, which was a fairly typical comfort level for this group.

"Well... it's just that we've all been so close the last few years and we know each other quite intimately... and, well, um... we all trust one another, right? A shared apartment would serve all three of us well. Don't you think this would be good for us?" she asked hesitantly, looking between Arnold and Helga.

"Y'know Arnold, that's not a bad arguement on the surface. We're already practically family as is, and we all DO need someplace to live. I mean, don't get me wrong, my mom is great and all but... she's still my mom, know what I mean? A shared apartment might work out okay. Just make sure we get two bathrooms..." sighed Helga as she headed to the kitchen for more coffee.

"Hmmmm... Well that's certainly something to think about. A place together might be pretty cool. We could afford a really nice townhouse if we pool our capital... we'll need a king size garage for the Packard... " mused Arnold as he placed a gentle kiss on Phoebe's forehead.

"And one big King Sized bed for us all the share..." grinned Phoebe as she gave Arnold a squeeze.

As one, Arnold and Helga said, "HUH!"

Before she could elaborate any further, there was a rather emphatic knock at the front door. Only half dressed, Helga and Phoebe let out a panicked yelp and bolted towards the bedroom as they yelled, "Arnold, get that!"

Grumbling to himself, he rose unsteadily and got the door.

"Boy howdy, this is some kinda weather, eh bro? I can't believe some stores are actually open today..." grinned Sid as he entered with two large bags of groceries. Dressed for the weather, only just, he shook off a few stray blobs of slush as he entered the apartment.

"Holy crap! Sid, what'r you doing here? Lemme get that..." grinned Arnold as he took control of what looked to be the heavier of the two bags.

Dressed now in jeans, Helga and Phoebe peeked out from the back room at this all too unexpected visiter.

"Sid! Whatever are you doing out on a day like this." grinned Phoebe as she trotted forward to hug him. Taking the second bag of comestables, she followed Arnold into the kitchen as Sid shed his Navy surplus Pea Coat. 

"Well, talking to the football head here, it sounded to me like there were no real plans for today, so I thought a little dinner together might help a bit to shake off the chill." he said, grinning like the cat who ate the canary.

Helga was stunned beyond words. Arnold and Phoebe had done a good job in keeping her up to date in the previous four years away from her friends in Hillwood, and so she was pretty much up to speed on everyone's lives. But it began to dawn on her that what she'd neglected to inquire about more immeadiate data such as physical changes they all might have gone through, and no where was she feeling this more than now.

Sid was... ADORABLE!

He'd jumped up to a full six feet in height, and had a physique that easily rivaled those of Arnold or Stinky. Unable to grow a good Van Dyke like his two friends, he'd opted for a soulpatch which added definition to the smooth and pleasing lines of his face. Add to this his lusterous long black hair and you had a man who could effortlessly set any little goth chickies heart aflutter, and for the record, had done so more than once.

Arnold was too busy in inventory of the groceries to notice Helga noticing Sid, "... two bottles of wine... onions, mushrooms, potatoes... EIGHT STEAKS! Jeez Sid, how many people were you planning on feeding with all this?" and he'd only gotten halfway into one of the two bags.

"The four of us, the Stinker and Sheena, but there's certainly nothing wrong with leftovers..." he said, grabbing the wine bottles. Going over to the sliding door to Phoebe's patio, he stepped out into the blizzard and stuffed the two bottles into a convinient snowbank up to their necks.

Phoebe looked up at him from the kitchen, "Sheena and Sticky are here too?"

"Oh no, not yet...", he smiled, shutting the winter chill back outside, "They'll be by a little later. I gotta lot to do before they get here if we're gonna have a dinner I consider even acceptable... Phoebe, I could use some help; you wanna give me a hand in here?" he smiled as he drew his cooking apron from the bottem of the second bag.

"Oh, um... would you mind helping him Helga? I need to discuss some things with Arnold in private." and she gave Helga smile meant to be innocent, but instead said so much else. Phoebe had missed Sid's sullen expression upon being given a new kitchen helper, though Helga had seen it quite clearly.

Putting on a good face, Sid laid out his dinner blueprints to Helga and began to divide all the tasks and set up a preliminary timetable as Arnold and Phoebe disappeared into the back of the apartment. As she busied herself preparing the veggies for the Caesar Salad, she cast a little glance Sid's way as he set about preparing a marinade for the steaks.

"Um, hey Sid... I suppose we need to bring you up to speed on current events... um, well y'see,... Arnold and Phoebe are back together. I'm guessing you were counting on her being... free, right?" she said quietly, her voice full of sympathy. Sighing, Sid looked at her with eyes sadder than he deserved and smiled, "Yeah, I guess I was thinking you and Arnold to be getting back together, y'know and Phoebe being open to dating or something. Kinda dumb, eh?"

"Hey no, don't talk like that... you couldn't know, okay? Trust me, this all has literally happened within the last hour. And y'know, for two people that love each other so much, it was a helluva lot of work getting them back together." she half smiled.

"Hold on now,... YOU got them back together!" she nodded, noting his baffled look. "Uh, Helga, haven't you and Arnold been burning up the postal service for the last four years? What the hell happened?" he asked as he transfered the chopped onions to a side dish.

"You've seen them together, right? What else could I do? Besides, I knew about all this for a while now and had a chance to get used to the idea. And don't sweat it, I'm actually VERY cool with all this. Maybe it will work out for them, maybe it won't. I just thought it best to let this play out. You may just get your shot yet." She grinned.

He smiled a little more, "Yeah, it was pretty funny. They both thought they were being SO descreet about it, but they couldn't keep their hands off each other. I mean, y'know in a nice way. Always little strokes of the hair, or she'd sidle up next to him so he'd be against her, or the number of times they caught themselves holding hands without realizing it. Don't think me and the Stinker didn't give him a hard time about that, either."

She grinned and ran a finger along his chin, "Yeah, well don't you go casting yourself as the hapless loser either Mister; your reputation precedes you! Fess up, how many frail beauties have fallen to your lusty, vampiric good looks? I'm given to believe there's quite a trail of sighing damsels waiting for you to return to them some moonlite night..." she was all grins now, and had him doing likewise.

"Well yeah, but it would have been different with Phoebe. We all grew up together, and y'know, she means more to all of us than just some other girl we know. She's... y'know, special."

Helga stopped and considered him for a moment. "Sid... you were worried about her, weren't you? That is SO sweet of you!" she said giving his arm a little squeeze.

"Well, yeah... it's just, y'know... she deserves a good guy that'll take care of her and all, and maybe I'm ready to settle down a little, like after college, y'know? It could've worked." he smiled, and Helga returned his smile.

Don't worry Sid, it'll work out for you. For now she's right where she belongs, but someday she'll need you, she thought.

Phoebe's 'discussion' was pretty much what Arnold had hoped it would be, namely fooling on the futan. Even before the bedroom door had closed, they were in each other's arms and enjoying the kisses they'd denied themselves for so long. Finally breaking their liplock, they could do little but just look into each other's eyes as he gently caressed her face, then in one fluid motion, scooped her up into his arms and carried her over to the futon. Laying her out, he knelt above her and continued to run a careful hand along her cheek as she pleaded with her eyes.

Taking his place beside her, they shared a few more kisses before he slowy wrapped his body around hers and closed his hand around hers. Thre soft kisses to the back of her neck and he whispered, "I love you."

Wringling free of him, she rolled over to face him and asked, almost apologeticly, "Would... would you say that again?"

Smiling, he said softly, "I love you."

Trembling, she said, "A-again please." her eyes filled with hope.

Bemused, he smothered her with a deep long kiss and whispered, "I love you Phoebe."

Throughout their past affair, despite all they'd done and said, neither had dared utter those words to the other. Intimate moments, shared showers, nights of desperate, needful passion were tolerated, but for some reason those words were viewed as crossing some forbidden boundry. To hear them now almost tipped Phoebe over the edge.

Not much else was said as they just enjoyed the freedom of their renewed love, now both public and with Helga's encouragement. Still dressed (though not for lack of trying on her part), they lay together in the dim grey light of her room and merely enjoyed each others presence. It felt so right... so perfect... and yet... why was Helga so insistant on this?

From the soft purr of her breathing, Arnold could tell that she'd dozed off, her sleep never troubled when they were together. He closed his own eyes and tried to sort out his feelings. Aside from the joy of his love for Phoebe, Helga's cryptic insistance on their union made him uneasy. Why! From their years of letters, he thought she and he would instantly click, yet they both realized that they hadn't. They were close, intimate even, just not the fire either had expected.

It was as if Helga was holding back... keeping him at arms length, much as Lila used to do. As much as he'd convinced himself of his love for Helga, she just didn't make him feel the way that Phoebe did. But there was something different about the three of them now... he couldn't put his finger on it, but he was suddenly uneasy about his feelings for Helga.

He slowly became aware of a draft in the room, and began the feel around behind him for the comforter. But against any sensible explanation, the room continued grow colder... then he noticed the smell. Opening his eyes, he was shocked to see Phoebe's bedroom gone, only to be replaced by a large brick walled room much too large to fit in the same space. There was no obvious source of lighting, which while dim all seemed to come from the object which filled the center of the dank room... a butcher's meat case, as seen at Green's Meats.

He squinted to make out the contents of the case, even though he already knew what it was... the dismembered and neatly butchered body of his grandmother. Almost comically, her severed head rested upright on the scale atop the counter... watching them. The walls of the room were bare save for a butcher beef cut chart and the occasional blood spatter. As terrifying as he found the latest 'Pookie' thing, his only thoughts were "please don't let Phoebe see this'.

The 'Pookie' thing's mouth stretched into a ghoulish wide grin before saying, "Imago Now Readily Impregnates" and began to sag and lose it's structure, oddly like one of the melting smiley face candles in the burning boarding house. Closing his eyes tight, he wrapped himself around the sleeping Phoebe, more to shield her from this ghastly visage than anything. He felt a sense of relief as he began to feel the air around him warm again. It was over... but what did it mean? Opening his eyes, the room was back as it should be. With a sigh, he lay back down beside her and made his own game attempt at sleep.

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Helga almost had to be helped to her chair, she was laughing so hard.

Arnold and Phoebe's letters hadn't truly done justice to the antics of their high school pals, and the story of Harold, the duck, and the copier machine was absolutely side splitting. As she desperately attempted to collect herself, Sid just grinned, glad to have a receptive audience to his tales. "That was so... so... Harold-like, y'know? I can almost see him all stained like that! That is just TOO much."

"Heh, yeah well, that's one of the reason's that Stinky and I stopped hanging around Harold... ONE of the reasons." Sid smiled as he finished up washing the mushrooms.

Before Helga could respond, another knock came to the front door. Checking his watch, Sid furrowed his brow. It's only 4:30, if that's Sheena and the Stinker they're early.

Wiping her hands, Helga opened the door and sure enough, there stood Sheena and Stinky, shaking the last remnants of snow from their shoulders.

Helga had gotten a good look at Stinky Peterson at her welcome home party, but just couldn't help staring anyway. Standing six foot eight inches of solid muscle, looked like nothing so much as a bigger meaner looking version of Arnold. Hair in a mullet, Van Dyke beard and piercing grey eyes, he was always portrayed as Mephisto in sports page charactures, and a demonic lineage couldn't be readily ruled out. Yet despite his Dante-esque visage, he remained the gentle Arkansas country boy at heart and could still charm the daylights out of Helga without breaking a sweat.

Sheena however, had not been able to attend Helga's coming home party, so this was her first chance to touch base again, and what a surprise it was.

Somewhere in the sixth grade, Sheena dropped her dolphin-kissing nature girl persona in favor of Western Swinger dealie. She dude-ranched every summer, went horseback riding and adopted the look and mannerisms that graced her with her nickname since seventh grade; Honky-Tonk Girl. Seldom seen out of jeans and a flannel shirt (though Stinky may prove the exception to that rule), she played fiddle in a local country and western band called Five Lonesome Cowgirls, and did so with flair.

Ignoring the boys, Sheena and Helga embraced each other and immediately scuttled off into the living room to catch up on four years worth of girltalk. Sid took their coats and when sure they enjoyed a bit of privacy, raised an eyebrow at Stinky and asked, "Well...?"

"Well whut?" Stinky's expression was unreadable. They walked to the kitchen as they talked, and Stinky stooped to look in the fridge.

"Uh... I um,... I couldn't help be notice that Sheena's pickup's been parked in from of your apartment for the last three days..." and again Sid hit him with a knowing look.

"Yeah, Ah reckon this way-ther really bahts all right." Craning his head into the living room, the devil's own called out, "Miss Helga, is this yur beer in the ahs-box? Might Ah git one?" 

"Oh sure, help yourself, Stinky." Sheena's head popped up, "Ooooh honey, would you please fetch me one?"

Topping two beers, he dutifully carried one of the bottles to Sheena, which she accepted in exchange for a kiss on the cheek. Returning to the kitchen, he took a slow draw off his beer as Sid just grinned at him slyly. After an interminable silence, Stinky smiled and almost whispered, "Yall'd be surprised jus' how high her voice can go..." and took another draw off his beer as Sid did a little dance.

To Be Continued

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Okay, thanks to everyone for the reviews and interest in this story. I origionally wrote this in mid 2003, but stalled out on it after hitting twelve chapters. The reason's were many and varied, but a big part of it was feeling so dissatisfied about the direction I'd let the story go. I made several BIG compromises to my concept to please some of the readers, and to be honest, that was a big mistake. I should have stuck to my guns and just plowed ahead. Not only that, in the intervining months I rethougfht how I wanted to tell the tale and better ways to present some of the elements.

So I pulled the story and have been cleaning it up and bringing it more in line with what I'd initially planned. More fun coming up and things start getting REALLY creepy in chapter eight, not just for Arnold, but for Helga as well as you get a little peek at whjat she's really up to. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Necropolitan by King Cheetah

These characters are from the sweat-beetled brow of Craig Bartlett... they're not mine, but if they were, this is the sort of thing I'd do with them..

Rated T cause I felt like it, and some characters might just end up nude later. We'll see...  
Enjoy.

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Helga held her breath as she looked down at the sleeping forms of Arnold and Phoebe before her.

"What are you dreaming?" she thought, "Are your dreams like mine?" Not likely, she mused.

Seeing the two of them together was hard, REALLY hard. But it would all work out in the end. "He promised it would..." she said in a half whisper.

Reaching down, she gently stroked Phoebe's hair and softly spoke to her. "Rise and shine Phebes, you got a house full of company. Time to be the good hostess." Groggily, Phoebe sat up and smiled, genuinely delighted to see Helga.

"Ugh... w-what time is it? Is dinner ready?" she whispered as she reached up to grasp Helga's hand.

"Sheena and Stinky are here, and I need to talk to Arnold, so why don't you help Sid finish up with dinner?" Helping her little friend to her feet, Helga suddenly found herself helplessly mired in an iron-strong bearhug.

"H-Helga... I... um, thank you for... I mean, it's just that... I, uh..." stammered Phoebe softly.

Smiling, Helga kissed Phoebe's cheek and whispered in her ear, "I know Phebes. Now get out there and see to your guests."

As the door closed behind Phoebe, Helga sat on the edge of the futon and without looking back said, "You can open your eyes now, faker."

Grinning, Arnold sat up and moved to the edge of the futon to sit beside her, "Now how in the world did you know I was awake?" he asked, kissing her lightly on the shoulder. "I heard your erection when I was hugging Phoebe." she said flatly, earning a welcome belly laugh from Arnold.

As the moment settled, she smiled at Arnold and said, "So, the three of us living together... you excited about this? This'll certainly add to your reputation..."

Standing, all the mirth evaporated from Arnold's manner as he began to pace the room, "Well, this is cute and all, but I think I'm going to nix the idea of sharing a place with you two. Sid's offered to put me up at his house, and I think that would be better for me. You and Phoebe go ahead though..."

Helga was on her feet in an instant to face him, "WHAT! But you have to... I mean, don't you think it would be better for us to share a place?" she was almost in a panic.

Looking at her with a steely gaze, Arnold said, "Why is this so important to you, Helga? Why do I 'have to' share a place with you two?" She froze, knowing full well that he was onto her...

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Sid couldn't take his eyes off of Phoebe. Bright and effervescent, she laughed and sang as she flitted about the apartment; helping Sid with the last of the dinner preparations, chatting with Sheena and Stinky, setting the table as best as she could to accommodate a party of six... she was so beautiful. Slim and petite, she'd always been insecure about her looks, but to his eyes she was perfection as flesh. They'd not only grown up together, they'd grown together, from childhood friends to confidants. Phoebe had always been there throughout high school as a part of their posse.

Sid, Arnold, and Stinky were all to used to wannabes and sycophants circling them like hyenas; that was the price of celebrity. But gals like Phoebe, Nadine, and Sheena had proven to be true friends and had stuck with the guys through bad times and good, but more importantly the bad times. Only recently did Sid begin to see Phoebe for the earthbound angel that she was.

Dammit Arnold, why did it have to be you? Any other guy and Sid would have made an all out assault to win over Phoebe's affections, but now... he couldn't bring himself to challenge his best friend for her. Sighing, he tried to keep his mind on the elegant dinner at hand, made all but impossible by Phoebe's low key flirting.

His heart almost stopped as he felt Phoebe pressed against his arm. With a new found self confidence in her high school years, Phoebe sought to mask her insecurities behind a flurry a campy vamping and voguing. In anyone else this facade of sensual bravado would have seemed rather pathetic, but in some odd way it seemed to suit her. She gently hugged his side as she took in the toothsome aroma of the pan broiled steaks, the feeling of her breast against him almost dropping him to his knees.

Composing himself, he asked, "How do you like your steak, beautiful?" and meant it.

"Served up by a handsome gentleman." She said, making an exaggerated show of sniffing the pan, "Ah, just the way I like it!" she grinned, giving him a naughty little smile. Damn you Arnold...

He smiled and said, "Yeah, the football head complains if the meat isn't screaming when it hits his plate. Me and Stinky like 'em well done." and waved the fork for emphasis.

Phoebe wrinkled her nose, "Ew, me too. Burn mine to a crisp, please. I don't know HOW Arnold can eat half the garbage he does."

Sid let slip a little smile, "He gets it from his Grandpa. You should have seen the two of them at a barbecue... they were like land based piranhas."

She laughed and set about getting the last of the silverware. "Y'know Sid," she said absently "you're too good a cook to stay single for long. You need to get a girlfriend and settle down..." without looking up. Before he could catch himself, Sid said, "Yeah well, I was thinking that too, but Arnold beat me to the punch..."

He didn't look up, but behind him, Phoebe wore the oddest expression...

Helga's mouth went dry as she desperately tried to think of an exit strategy from Arnold's stern gaze. "Well?" he asked impassively, "Why is it so important to you? Spill it Helga, you're up to something, I just can't figure out what."

She grinned weakly, "N-no, it's nothing special... I just think it would b-beneficial t-to all three of us... that's all. Really."

He was stone faced as she spoke, then said, "The truth, Helga. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you have NEVER been able to bullshit me... EVER." Which was true. Since their friendship began, Helga had never been able to deceive Arnold, even in their letters.

Gulping, she whispered, "A-Arnold, I... it's just that..." then silence as she turned her back to him. This was too painful, and she couldn't face him like this.

After an interminable silence, Arnold said softly, "Okay fine. I'll tell Sid to start cleaning up the guest bedroom for me. Good luck with the new place..."

"ARNOLD! I..." Helga cried, almost in tears.

He just looked at her as has headed for the door.

Again, she looked pleadingly at him, "Arnold... please... please shut the door and sit down." Broken, she stood slump shouldered before him. As the door closed, Arnold crossed his arms and leaned against it, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm listening." He said, wearing the look of an executioner.

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Without even trying, Stinky's long, lanky frame filled most of Phoebe's sofa, leaving just enough room for Sheena, which suited him just fine. Snuggled in tight beside him, Sheena idly ran a finger through his hair as she chatted with Phoebe. He sat back, enjoying the attention from the queen of the cowgirls as he quietly took in every word spoken. Since the seventh grade, this had become his nature; stoic, thoughtful, introspective... at least, until he hit the basketball court.

On the hard wood, he was the physical personification of motion and speed. His powerful playing style, matched with an uncanny ability to sense where the ball would be, had earned him his nickname in the sports press, Mephisto. Along with Arnold and Sid, they were the Unholy Trinity. Sid, unrivalled in assists, seemingly able to fly to reach errant shots and deliver them to Stinky. Arnold, who if the ball even touched his hands would instantly find itself in the basket, no matter where he stood on the court.

Of them, only the lord of darkness himself considered a career in professional sports, much to the delight of the NBA scouts. Lavish was their tributes and they lined up to abase themselves before him. As their relationship seemed serious, Stinky had asked Sheena how she liked the idea of moving to San Antonio, Texas. She did, very much so.

Stinky smiled to himself as he thought back to the photo shoot the three of them had done for Sports Illustrated. Underlit and surrounded by cheerleaders accented with devil horns and tails, Sid and Arnold flanked him as lighting and props added to their infernal public personas. Captioned "Hell Bent On Winning", the art director had added tiny wisps of smoke to Stinky's hand as he clutched the ball. They'd arranged to make posters of this photo, and Sticky had asked for 200 as gifts. This was fun and all, but they were careful to keep this all in check. When asked about an especially spectacular win, Stinky's quote to the press was "Ah chock it ahl up t' mah faeth in Jeez-us".

Even off the court the three of them were close as brothers, and while the same age, it fell to Stinky to be the watchful older brother and keep his ne'er do well siblings in check, an all too common occurrence. With Helga back in town and Sid's inability to NOT talk about Phoebe, he detected the first faint signs that these two were ready to grow up a little, but the current situation hinted that this was not to be. Despite what everyone SAID, to Stinky's baleful eye, Sid and Phoebe were more of an item than perhaps either was prepared to admit. He made a mental note to talk with Arnold about his future plans, with or without Phoebe.

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Helga shifted nervously from foot to foot, wringing her hands like Lady MacBeth.

"Well?" asked Arnold dispassionately.

Finally, she looked him straight in the eye and said, "Arnold, are... are you happy now that you're back with Phoebe?" the question caught him flat footed. "You're not totally, are you? You're already having doubts, aren't you? About you and her, about you and me, right?" she asked, less a question than a confirmation of a known fact.

She was pacing now, "I-I wasn't ready to talk about this yet, but I knew from the start that you and Phoebe wouldn't work out. Don't ask me how I knew this; the truth is too weird for words." He raised an eyebrow at her.

She raised a hand, "Please, lemme just say my piece. This... 'thing' between you and Phoebe wasn't what you thought it was. It was me. You two were projecting your feelings for me onto each other, y'see? But now that I give you two the thumbs up, you feel strange about this, don't you?"

He nodded slowly, but said nothing.

She acknowledged his response but seemed to derive no pleasure from his answer. "In a few weeks you'll find that Phoebe feels the same way. She's so happy right now that the three of us are together that she's not really thinking about it, but trust me it's coming."

Arnold stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him.

Looking up into his serene green eyes, she just wanted to melt into his arms. "Helga, how do you know all this?" he asked softly.

"Am I right though? About you and Phebes, I mean? Is this how you feel?" she asked.

He nodded slowly and said, "Maybe.", more to humor her than anything else. She smiled a little, not happiness per se, but rather reassurance in what she already knew. "Why Helga? What's going on? I don't get ANY of this. Why encourage me and Phoebe to get back together if you knew we were doomed to fail? What was the point of all this?" He was almost to the point of anger, but took a deep breath and collected himself.

Helga was silent for a few minutes, then placed a hand over his, "For her. For Phoebe..." She turned to face him again. "Y'know how she is. As long as either of us has known her, she's had this problem with her self-image. But when she's around us, she's a dynamo. She could have moved back to Kentucky with her folks, but she wanted to stay in Hillwood with all the people she loved. Now, you gotta admit, that was a BRAVE move for her." Arnold nodded.

Helga ran her hands lightly across his chest, "She knows you two weren't right for each other either, but I wanted HER to come to that realization on her own, y'see? If I just came back and you and I got together, she'd always be dogged by what might have been, y'know?" Sighing, he gave her another little smile and brought his hand up to stroke her cheek. "You dumbass..." he grinned' "You were going to let me sleep with phoebe until she got tired of me? That's not much of a plan."

She giggled, "No! You know good and well that you weren't going to sleep with her. You're the most ethical guy I know." And she playfully slapped his chest.

"Oh really?" he grinned, "You don't know. You two might just have been the start of my harem. I gotta keep up with Sid." and they both laughed which turned into gentle kiss and knowing smiles.

Pushing back from him again, she smiled as she got lost in his eyes, "I love her like a sister, probably even more than Olga. I really want her to be happy, y'know how it is. Living with us, she'll get more confident and not be afraid to follow her dreams. You want that too, right?"

Arnold smiled and hugged her close, "You know I do, what kind of question is that?" he hugged her tighter, "But what am I suppose to do now? This is all just words right now. Don't think I'm sold on all this just yet. You wanted me and Phoebe back together, so you better be ready to deal with it."

Helga let out a deep sigh, "Well, I think she wants affection more than sex. And... I think I can... deal with this just fine. I have faith in all three of us."

Arnold looked down at her, "You mean just me and her? Oh... Well, given the way she goes on, I'd say we're BOTH going to be in that boat. Hope you're ready for some wild, swingin' times." which earned a laugh from Helga.

She sighed, "Well, whether you know it or not, you have a bit of competition in the boyfriend department..." Arnold looked baffled, but didn't pursue it.

Taking a step back from her, he took on a thoughtful air, "You're not off the hook, Helga. I still want to know how you knew all this, and don't try to BS me. This is no mere intuition or supposition on your part. Spill it, how did you know all this?"

Now it was her turn to look sober, "I... please Arnold, it's too weird to explain..."

A look of anger returned to his face, but Helga quickly cut him off, "Look, I'll make you a deal. Tomorrow, I'll... 'do something' that'll prove to you that I know what I'm talking about. If you're satisfied by my demonstration, you have to agree to just trust me about all this, okay? Agreed?"

He looked unconvinced, "What kind of demo?"

Helga took on a playful air, "You'll see. You agree to this?" After a slight pause, he arched an eyebrow and nodded, bringing a huge smile to her face. Drawing her close to him again, he bent and kissed her on the forehead.

"C'mon, I think our girlfriend is waiting for us." grinned Arnold and they headed out to join the party.

To Be Continued

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	8. Chapter Eight

Necropolitan by King Cheetah

None of these characters are mine, but if they were, this is the sort of thing I'd do with them. Think Craig Bartlett will mind?  
Rated T cause I felt like it, and some characters might just end up nude later. We'll see...

Enjoy.

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Almost as if it could feel the joy within Phoebe's apartment, the blizzard outside seemed to redouble it's efforts. Smiling to herself, Helga retrieved the wine bottles from the snow bank that once was her little friend's patio that Sid had stuffed them into. Taking a moment to look out at the frozen fury about her, she grinned and sang, "Oh, the weather outside is frightful..." and returned to the warmth of the company within.

Though never anticipating having six guests at any one time, Phoebe did remarkably well in setting the table in a manner befitting the spread Sid was preparing. With the addition of a card table, two folding chairs and her grandmother's antique tablecloth, she'd managed to set a fine table. Candles were brought out and lit with care, she urged all present to wash up for the meal that was to mark the end of some things, the beginning of others. Watching Phoebe with the eyes of a lover, Sid forelornly contemplated future meals, minus all but the two of them.

Returning from the bathroom, Arnold was immediately set upon by the smaller of the two loves in his life, who grabbed him like Beowulf in a amorous half nelson. As he hugged her, he happened to look up in time to catch sight of Helga, who just for a moment looked devastated. She had been deluding herself if she thought that she'd be able to stand the sight of her best friend in Arnold's arms for more than a day, he thought.

Forcing a little smile to her lips, she gave him a slight nod and retreated into the living room.

Disentangling himself from Sheena's attentions, Stinky sauntered over to the Arnold/Phoebe tangle of limbs and asked softly, "Miss Phoebe, Maht Ah bah-rrie Ahr-nol fer a min-ut? We gaht uh bit uh biz-ness ta tend to...".

After a moments thought she said, "Well, alright. But this is just a loan; I expect him back!"

Smiling, Hell's own said, "Ma'am, ah woodunt know whut ta doo wittim iffin Ah keptim." As Phoebe scurried off to flirt with Helga, Stinky's demeanor went stern as he motioned Arnold to join he and Sid in the kitchen.

Wiping his hands, Sid reached into his back pocket and drew out an envelope just as Stinky handed Arnold a check. "This is eight hundred bucks." said Sid motioning to the envelope as Arnold examined it's contents, "And the Stinkmeister added another grand. That should be enough to keep you afloat til you can get back on your feet."

Looking a tad peeved, Arnold made to return the gifts, but his erstwhile brothers were having none of it. "Dohn beh uh deng fool, Ahr-nol! Tehk the mun-ni!" said Stinky tersely.

"Yeah Bro. You got the shirt on your back and Phoebe, and that's it! Now's not the time for this. Besides, it's not like you haven't helps us out in the past. It's payback, pure and simple." smiled Sid, as Stinky nodded in agreement.

Fidgeting, Arnold finally slipped the money into his back pocket, "Okay, but I'm paying you guys back, just remember that!" They both just smiled and pretended not to hear.

Helga hoped she wasn't crying, but it was really hard to tell at the moment. Just the sight of Arnold and Phoebe had been like a blow to the head and she felt somewhat numb from the experience. Dear God in heaven, how could she have she thought she could blithely deal with several WEEKS of them together? Sheena could tell something was wrong as Helga settled onto the couch next to her, but seemed to be debating whether or not to say anything.

Before much could be said or asked, Phoebe trotted in and snuggled in next to Helga. Startled at first, she smiled and wrapped her arm around the little woman's shoulder. "I guess you feel pretty lucky to have both Arnold AND a girlfriend too, huh?" smiled Sheena.

Phoebe giggled, "I'd say my life was coming together nicely."

Helga just cast a thoughtful glance towards Sheena. "Which of us were you talking to, me or Phoebe?" she thought.

Clearing his throat, Stinky looked at Sid, "Ah need uh werhd with Ahr-nol. Whah don y'all go give Miss Phoebe uh nehk rub? Ah thank she rally nahd won." Looking confused by the suggestion, Sid none the less complied. Turning back to Arnold, Stinky's face was a mask of scrutiny. Finally, he leaned back against the counter edge and considered his brother in mischief.

"So, How y'all feelin'?"

Sighing loudly, Arnold said, "Better. It was a HUGE fuckup on my part to close myself off after the funeral, but... um, Helga brought me back from the brink."

Stinky nodded dispassionately, "An... Y'all red-dy tu git yer lahf behk on trek? Meh-be settle down sum?" Arnold had learned over the years to read Stinky's moods, and he quite obviously had something on his mind. A complete cipher to most, the big man was open and uncomplicated to he and Sid. Stinky had evidently made up his mind about this whole situation, and was merely fact checking with Arnold.

From within the living room, Phoebe let out a loud, sensual moan, followed by silence, then finally she called out, "Thank you Stinky!" with a musical lilt in her voice. Stinky smiled.

"Ahm geev'n tu beh-leev thet y'all two're a cup'l..." drawled the big man.

Looking downward, Arnold's mood went quiet, "Um, maybe. Well... no, not maybe. Not at all. I mean, I thought I was for a few hours, but right away it started feeling... odd. I love her, but... there's this whole weird thing with Helga. Phoebe really thinks she loves me, but I... I..." he faltered.

"Ahr sta'in troo ta Hahl-ga, raht?" said Stinky, finishing his thought. Arnold nodded. Pacing a little, he said softly, "Phoebe's just in love with the idea of being in love with me. At least, that's what Helga thinks at any rate."

Again, nothing but a nod from Stinky. "This is hardest on Helga. I mean, she dealing with it okay, but she doesn't want to hurt Phoebe, y'know? Neither of us do."

Nod.

Motioning to the doorway, Arnold said, "I just wish there was some way to speed this up." And sighed as they headed out into the living room.

Grinning, Stinky whispered, "Ahm wurken ahn it."

All told, the meal surpassed all Sid's expectations. Phoebe sat herself at the head of the table, Arnold and Helga to her left and right. Sid next to Helga, with Stinky and Sheena at the far end completed the set. Glasses raised in toast to friendships eternal, to young love renewed and to the blizzard that postponed an especially difficult chemistry lab for Phoebe. Sid was praised to the heavens for a meal done to perfection, from salad to dessert, and for his steaks done exactly to everyone's liking.

Helga followed Arnold's suit with her steak rare and large, for after all, she was her father's daughter; the quintessential meat and potatoes girl. As they all enjoyed Sid's handy work, Phoebe was lost in her imaginary role of hostess, while Sid was lost in dreams of Phoebe in a thong. Helga and Arnold cast knowing, cautious looks at each other as they ate, and it seemed that only Stinky and Sheena were aware of what REALLY seemed to be going on at the table, and shot each other nervous glances every so often..

As if working from some predetermined script, Stinky kept up a steady flow of conversation at the table, few of the words spoken actually being his own. Sly and subtle, his seemingly innocent queries were designed to get the right people talking to each other. A request to Helga to recount an especially funny Arnold story from Middle School had both sparing and correcting each others versions of the tale, garnished with playful punches and laughter. A word to Phoebe, and a Homeric epic spilled forth about she and Sid lost at Dinoworld in their sophomore year, dredging up a few cherished almost were moments between the two, and a few deep looks between the two that more than made up for the chill outside. When the chemistry at the table had yielded the desired result, he merely sat back and enjoyed the proceedings, as Sheena favored him with a knowing smirk or two as she enjoyed her favorite sorcerer weave his little love spell.

Finally, the party began to breakup at around 8:30, all participants spent. "The city snowplow just passed so we gotta go while the gettins' good. You need a ride home Helga?" asked Sid, slipping into his coat. She shot a quick look over to Phoebe, who begged with her eyes.

Sighing, Helga said, "Um, yeah... lemme get my stuff together. You're all set on the plan for tomorrow morning, right?"

Buttoning his last button, Sid smiled, "I figured you might be having another slumber party, so I got these for you, football head." He said handing him the second shopping bag which containing toiletries and grinned, "Yeah, I got it, 9:30 sharp. We'll drop Phebes off at school if it's open, then we can run around. Where are we going anyway?"

Helga paused a minute to turn and look Arnold straight in the eye. "The boarding house..." she said, "We're headed back over to the Sunset Arms."

Arnold seemed to take a moment to register the words in his head, then just nodded knowingly to Helga. The proof. The demonstration that would lay to rest the mystery of Helga's behavior in regards to Arnold and Phoebe.

It was with no small amount of pride that Sid's car traversed the snow laden streets of Hillwood as if it was the middle of summer, for it's snow tires were rated for use in Antarctica. Helga in the passenger seat, he was glad that her mind seemed to be elsewhere, as he was too wrapped up in his own little drama to make pleasant conversation. All through dinner he thought he could see hints and traces of... something between him and Phoebe, but were they really there, or just wishful thinking on his part.

For her part, Helga was just as engrossed as Sid, but she found herself wrestling with an all together darker angel than her driver. Sighing inside, she was wracked with doubt. It was all coming together as she'd seem it, but yet somehow not entirely. At any other time she'd have thought that sleep would give her respite from this turmoil... but she knew better than that.

Eyes closed, Arnold lay on Phoebe's futon and listened to the sounds of her going through her usual evening rituals, though it suddenly occured to him that something was missing from the mix. She wasn't singing, as was her usual habit. In fact, the entire apartment seemed unnaturally quiet all of the sudden. Bolting out of the bedding, he looked around. You're here somewhere, he thought, I can feel you. Almost inpreceptively, he began to hear a distant clicking sound. Out into the hall, he strode forcefully into the living room and was greeted by something that he'd sadly come to expect.

Sitting casually at the dining room table sat the headless body of his grandfather, idly drumming his fingers on the polished wood surface, seemingly unconcerned by the loss of his hat holder. Sprawled in blood on the wall behind the 'Phil' thing were the words, "Innocence, Nobility, Righteousness, Investigative". Sighing, he turn to go back to the bedroom, running into Phoebe in the hall.

"Arnold, what are-" she began.

"Oh um, I... I just wanted to check on things before we called it a night. You, um... all set?" he asked quietly.

Not meeting his gaze, she nodded and slipped under the comforter on the futon. Killing the lights, he joined her, instantly feeling the tension between them.

Quietly, her voice drifted to him from the darkness around him.

"So... do you want to...?"

Sighing, he said softly, "Sweets, it's been kind of a busy day. Why don't we just catch up on some sleep?"

"Okay." she said, and he could almost feel the relief in her voice. Curling around the delicate beauty beside him, he thought, "Helga, you had better have some kind of show for me tomorrow."

To Be Continued

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